Tilbury in Essex

Visit Tilbury and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Tilbury, Essex, is an important port opposite Gravesend, the first of the Port of London docks on the Thames estuary. It was here that the first mission to the East Saxons was arranged by Bishop Cedd, and it was at Tilbury that Queen Elizabeth I came to address her troops as they prepared to face the Spaniards. Tilbury Fort, with its classically columned gateway, was built c. 1670 as a defence against other attackers, the Dutch and French, and ironically was designed by a Dutchman in 17th century French style. It was in fact built after the Dutch had landed at East Tilbury in 1667. The huge docks have been steadily developed since the first installations were built in the 1880s.

At East Tilbury is St Catherine's Church, situated above the Coal House Fort of 1866. The church dates from Norman times: the fort was built by Gordon of Khartoum. The Bata shoe factory (1932) is in the style of the company's factories in Czechoslovakia.